Nassau Paradise Island’s big summer festival is back this year, with the highly-anticipated return of the Goombay Summer Festival. 

The beloved event is making its return to the island after a hiatus of more than a decade, when the Goombay Summer Festival was exclusively held in the Out Islands of The Bahamas. 

This return to Nassau is a “significant milestone in our 50th year of Independence,” according to a statement from The Bahamas’ Ministry of Tourism. 

The festival infuses the capital with vibrant music, art and cultural expressions, with a major event on July 28 on Bay Street between Charlotte Street and Rawson Square, and then on two subsequent Fridays. 

This year’s event will include a lineup of popular music artists, including Sweet Emily, D-Mac, Solo, The Obeah Man (Junkanoo Tingz ), Gary McDonald, Shine, Lady E, Blaudy, Nishie L.S. and Geno D. 

“Goombay Summer Festival is about igniting the atmosphere of downtown with the music, art, and culture of The Bahamas,” said Bahamas Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism Minister Chester Cooper. 

It will also showcase limbo dancers, goombay dancers, stilt performers, storytelling and an exhilarating Junkanoo rushout.

“Goombay Summer Festival is exciting; it’s the coming together of our art, our food, and our culture and the general interaction of the warmth of all the people across The Bahamas,” Cooper said. “This is going to be an exciting occasion, and we invite everyone, tourists and residents across all the islands of The Bahamas, to participate.”